The Kettlebell Swing - Burn Fat in Five Minutes a Day

Posted on Nov 22, 2016 8:35am PST

The Kettlebell Swing – Burn Fat in Five Minutes a Day

What if I said you could do away with your daily lower back pain, improve
your mental focus, lose weight and build endurance in just five minutes
a day? Then, imagine I told you could do it all from your living room
for less than $50. How is that possible?

Well, let me introduce you to modern kettlebell training and, more specifically,
the kettlebell swing. The kettlebell has been around for hundreds of years
but is now enjoying a revival in popularity, likely due to the fact that
nothing can offer the same level of training diversity and simplicity.
They are compact, portable and nearly indestructible. Plus, you can get
a full body workout in just minutes. What’s not to love?

Need a quick lunchtime workout? Want to do away with two-hour sessions
at your big-box gym spent waiting for machines and treadmills to open
up? Grab an outdoor workout on a beautiful spring day? Grab a kettlebell
and start swinging!

What Is a Swing?

The swing is a dynamic, explosive movement that allows you to work nearly
every muscle in your body from your hands to your feet. It will directly
target your glutes and lower back, allowing you to condition the biggest
muscles in your body. Doing so will not only burn the most calories, but
it will also strengthen your core and combat back pain. With a light weight
and a lot of reps, you can work on endurance and cardiovascular conditioning.
With more weight and fewer reps, you can build muscle and strength.

No matter which option you go with, you will be guaranteed to develop muscle,
burn fat and build endurance like you never thought possible. Best of
all, you will get it done in just five minutes a day!

How to Do a Kettlebell Swing

First, you want to select a kettlebell that is the proper size. For swinging,
you will need a kettlebell that challenges the largest muscle groups in
your body. In the StrongFirst programming guidelines, a 35lb kettlebell
is the minimum standard for women and 50lbs is minimum for men. This can
be scaled back for beginners to 35lbs for men and 18lbs for women. Either
way, pick a weight that is challenging. You only have five minutes, and
you want to get a challenging full body workout in.

To start the swing, begin with the kettlebell one to two feet in front
of your toes. Reach forward and grip the handle firmly. The kettlebell
should be far enough in front of you that when you grab it, the kettlebell
angles about 45 degrees back. Be sure to grip the handle tight. Now, hike
the kettlebell between your legs like a football. As the kettlebell travels
back between your legs, exhale forcefully, then snap your hips and glute
forward, propelling the kettlebell upward. There should be minimal arm
contribution. Keep your elbows tight to your body and
do not let the kettlebell travel to chest height. As the kettlebell reaches its
peak it should hover briefly between ascent and descent. Your body should
be locked in and braced, like a vertical plank. As the kettlebell travels
back down, grab a quick inhalation and get ready to repeat.

That’s it! That is your swing. Super simple, but always a work in
progress. Make each rep perfect and stop when your technique begins to fail.